Daniel's Prayer for the People

In the first year of Darius the son of

Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the

Medes, who was made king over the

realm of the Chaldeans-

in the first year of his reign I , Daniel,

understood by the books the number of 

the years specified by the word of the

LORD, given through Jeremiah the

prophet, that He would accomplish seventy

years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Then I set my face toward the LORD

God to make request by prayer and

supplications, with fastig, sackcloth,

and ashes.

And I prayed to the LORD my God,

and made confession, and said, " O Lord,

great and awesome God, who keeps His

covenant and mercy with those who 

love Him, and with those who keep His

commandments,

" we have sinned and commited inquity,

we have done wickedly and rebelled,

even by departing from Your

precepts and Your judgments.

" Neither have we heeded Your servants

the prophets, who spoke in Your 

name to our kings and our princes, to

our fathers and all the people of the land.

" O Lord, righteousness belongs to

You, but to us shame of face, as it is this

day - to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants

of jerusalem and all Israel, those

near and those far off in all the countries

to which You have driven them, because

of the unfaithfulness which they have

commited against You.

" O Lord, to us belongs shame of face,

to our kings, our princes, and our fathers,

because we have sinned against You.

" To the Lord our God belong mercy

and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.

" We have not obeyed the voice of the 

LORD our God, to walk in His laws,

which he set before us by His servants

the prophets.

"Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your

law, and has departed so as not to obey

Your voice; therefore the curse and the

oath written in the Law of Moses the

servant of God have been poured out on

us, because we have sinned against Him.

" And He has confirmed His words,

which He spoke against us and against

our judges who judged us, by bringing

upon us a great disaster; for under the

whole heaven such never has been done

as what has been done to Jerusalem.

" As it is written in the Law of Moses,

all this disaster has come upon us;

yet we have not made our prayer before the

LORD our God, that we might turn from

our inquities and understand Your 

truth.

" Therefore the LORD has kept the

disaster in mind, and brought it upon us;

for the LORD our God is righteous in all

the works which He does, though we

have not obeyed His voice.

" And now, O Lord our God , who

brought Your people out of the land of

Egypt with a mighty hand, and made

Yourself a name, as it is this day - we

have sinned , we have done wickedly!

" O Lord, according to all Your righteousness,

I pray, let Your anger and

Your fury be turned away from Your 

city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain;

because for our sins, and for the inquities

of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your 

people have become a reproach to all

who are around us.

" Now therefore, our God, hear the

prayer of Your servant, and his supplications,

and for the Lord's sake cause Your

face to shine on Your sanctuary, which 

is desolate.

" O my God, incline Your ear and 

hear ; open Your eyes and see our desolations,

and the city which is called by

Your name; for we do not present our 

supplications before You because of our

righteous deeds, but because of Your

great mercies.

" O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! 

O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for

Your own sake, my God, for Your city

and Your people are called by Your

name."